


the right choice

by JustATinyTurtle



Category: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Episode: s01e19 Tactical Village, F/M, First Kiss, Get Together, i just rewatched that episode and I needed to write this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-02
Updated: 2019-04-02
Packaged: 2020-01-01 03:17:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,307
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18327533
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustATinyTurtle/pseuds/JustATinyTurtle
Summary: “Um, I was just wondering- are you wearing lipstick?” His train of thought derailed as soon as he caught sight of her colored lips. He couldn’t take his eyes off of them.“Yeah,” she confirmed, slightly bashful. “Teddy asked me out for dinner again tonight.”Or, what if Jake had gone through with his plan of asking Amy out at the end of Tactical Village?





	the right choice

“Goodnight, everyone,” Amy said as she made her way towards the elevator. 

“Hey, Amy, check it out,” Jake walked up to her, trying to catch her before she left. He held up his karate trophy and smiled proudly. 

Amy beamed. “No way! You won coolest kill?”

“Not even close!” Jake laughed, but continued. “Turns out anyone can just buy a children’s karate trophy.”

“Smart,” Amy nodded in mock-seriousness.

Jake grinned at her. “I know.” He paused and his demeanor changed ever so slightly. “Hey, before you go, I wanted to ask you something.” His mouth suddenly felt very dry and he swallowed. He lowered his trophy, letting his arm hang, and his other hand fiddled with the prize. 

“Of course,” she said warmly, ready to help her partner. 

“Um, I was just wondering- are you wearing lipstick?” His train of thought derailed as soon as he caught sight of her colored lips. He couldn’t take his eyes off of them. 

“Yeah,” she confirmed, slightly bashful. “Teddy asked me out for dinner again tonight.”

“Oh,” Jake replied, suddenly feeling crestfallen. He tried not to let it show. It wasn’t working very well. 

“What’s wrong?” Amy shot a concerned look at her partner and rested a hand on his arm.

“Nothing,” he said in a too-cheery voice. “I’m great! Dandy, even.”

“Jake,” she fixed him with a look and furrowed her brow, trying to get an answer out of him.

He sighed. He was never good at keeping things from her anyway. “Alright, fine. Don’t freak out, but I was kind of thinking of asking you out for drinks.”

“Oh.” She was completely taken aback. As far as she could tell, this was coming right out of left field. 

“But you’re about to go out with Teddy,” Jake continued, “and that’s great. So, I won’t hold you up. Have a nice dinner, Amy.” He gave her a very small smile, though it was the largest he could muster at the moment. He then turned towards the evidence lockup. 

Amy was pretty sure she saw Charles run after him. 

She stood rooted to the spot for a moment. Jake liked her? Had he ever given any indication that he felt that way? She supposed there was the bet where he ended up losing lots of money and those moments at the tactical village where he was obsessed with beating Teddy. She then thought back to all the time he had tried to ruin her dates and - oh my gosh. He actually liked her. 

Amy shook her head, she shouldn’t be thinking about this right now. She was about to leave for a dinner date with Teddy.

• • •

Amy spent most of the beginning of her date with Teddy in her own head. She knew that she should snap out of it and pay attention to him. Nice, sweet Teddy who she connected with and who had all the same interests as her. Yet, she couldn’t stop thinking about Jake. It was a relief when their waiter finally came to take their drink orders. 

“Just water for me tonight, thank you,” she smiled politely at the waiter. 

“I’ll take a pilsner, thanks,” Teddy gave his order. He turned towards Amy. “I actually watched a documentary about pilsners the other night. It was thrilling. Easily one of the best movies I’ve ever watched, maybe even my favorite. Next time we eat in we should watch it together.” 

Amy inwardly sighed. Here came the pilsners. It wasn’t that she wasn’t being receptive towards his interests, but there was only so much talk about it that she could take. If she had to head about how they were made or where they originated from one more time she would snap. 

At least with Jake his interests were, you know, interesting. Or, even if they weren’t, they could have fun teasing each other about their nerdiness. That was one of the things she really liked about him, he was always able to keep her on her toes or make her laugh. 

On paper, Teddy should be the perfect guy for her. Yet, here she was, on a date with him and thinking about a coworker instead.

“Are you alright?” Teddy looked at her with concern. 

“Yeah, I’m fine. Sorry, I guess I’m kind of in my head tonight.”

“Work?” Teddy asked, feeling sympathetic. 

“Mostly, yeah,” she gave a rueful grin. Jake was from work. Thinking about that whole situation counted as a work thing then, right? 

“I’m sorry you’re feeling this way,” Teddy frowned.

Any gave him a genuine smile. He really was a sweet guy. He deserved better than a girl from code camp who thought about other guys on dates. That was why she had to do this. “Teddy, I’m so sorry,” she began, “but I can’t be here right now. I know this seems like its coming out of nowhere but I don’t think we should see each other anymore. You’re such a sweet guy and you deserve to find someone special, I just don’t think that person is me. I think we both knew last time that we were just holding on to camp memories.” She finished her small speech and took a gulp of her water. 

Teddy smiled and sadly nodded. “I think you’re right, Amy. You deserve to fine someone special, too. I’m sorry that it wasn’t me.”

“Friends?” She offered hopefully. 

“Friends,” he agreed. 

• • • 

Amy fiddled with the zipper on her coat as the elevator moved upwards towards the bullpen. The doors opened and she took a deep, calming breath. She spotted Jake at his desk, working late, and with a determined look upon her face, she marched over to him. 

“You ruined my date,” she said. 

“Amy,” Jake jumped slightly. He had been so focused on his work and trying not to think about anything else that he hadn’t heard her approach. He stood up. “What are you doing here? Why aren’t you at dinner?”

“Because you ruined it,” she repeated simply, crossing her arms over her chest. He opened his mouth to apologize but she cut him off. “I was supposed to be having a nice dinner but I couldn’t stop thinking about you the whole time. I kept comparing him to you and thinking about how I would much rather be hanging out with you and how I wished that it was you sitting across from me and not him. I figured it wouldn’t be fair to any of us to keep seeing Teddy.” 

Jake’s throat was dry and his heart was beating so quickly and so loudly that he was almost sure that she could hear it. “What are you saying?” He was pretty sure he knew, but sue him if he wanted clarification before proceeding. He didn’t want to make a fool out of himself again. 

“I’m saying that, if the offer still stands, I’d like to go get drinks with you some time, Peralta,” she rolled her eyes fondly at her partner. “Like a date.”

“Well, I don’t know, I’ll have to check my schedule,” he began to joke. 

“Alright,” she laughed as she leaned forward. Her hands went straight to his hair and she kissed him softly. 

His hands went to her waist and he tugged her as close to him as he could. He deepened the kiss and smiled against her lips. Amy’s hands left his hair and her arms looped around his neck. She stood on her tiptoes to try and combat their height difference, which had never been more obvious until now. Jake’s fingers left a trail of warmth across her hips and he held her tightly. 

He finally pulled back and rested his forehead against hers. He smiled softly at the woman in front of him. “Amy Santiago, I would love to go on a date with you.”


End file.
